Textiles and clothing imports by the US declined by 4.7 per cent to $24.6 billion during Q1, FY24.Exports by the country also contracted by 4.46 per cent to $5.7 billion.

According to reports by the Department of Commerce, China was the leading supplier of textiles and clothing to the US with imports from the country increasing by 3.6 per cent to $5.5 billion. Imports from Vietnam remained stable at $3.7 billion while thos from India fell by 4.37 per cent to $2.3 billion. The most notable decline of 17.3 per cent was reported by Bangladesh totaling 1.8 billion.

Imports from the European Union lowered by 4.1per cent to $1.4 billion, followed by Indonesia whose imports decreased by 13.3 per cent to $1.2 billion.

In terms of exports, United States' shipments to its biggest customer, Mexico, fell by 4.9 per cent to $1.7 billion over the January-March period. Exports to Canada declined by 5.40 per cent with $1.8 billion followed by shipments to the European Union which decreased by 10.8 per cent to 643 million, and toHonduras by 11.6 per cent decline totaling 305 million

On the other hand, exports to China increased significantly by 14.5 per cent over the period to €185 million. Exports to the Dominican Republic, on the other hand, declined by 15.3 per cent to 154 million; exports to Japan by 5.3 per cent to 105 million (-5.3%) and exports to the United Kingdom by 22.9 per cent to 101 million.

In 2023, the United States’ textile and clothing imports collapsed by 21 per cent to $104.9 billion. Meanwhile, exportsstabilised at $23.6 billion from$24.8 billion in the previous year.